TASTY TOUR~HOLD ME CLOSE~SHANNYN SCHROEDER

Hold
Me CloseThe O'Leary's #6

By: Shannyn Schroeder

NOW AVAILABLE

Kensington

ABOUT THE BOOK~

Leave
it to the O’Learys to make romance a family affair…

Maggie
O’Leary is finally coming home to Chicago. After more than a year in Ireland,
she’s ready to make a plan for her future. But first, she’ll have to confront
the tragedy that scarred her so deeply. Asking for a job in the family bar is
the first step, and it’s one her family isn’t entirely happy about. At least
Shane Callahan, her best friend in the world, is behind her a hundred percent.
He’s also a hundred percent more lovable than she remembered…

Shane
is determined to keep Maggie safe, even if it means working three jobs and
giving up sleep to be around during her shifts at the bar. But when Maggie
boldly tells him she needs more than a loyal friend now, Shane knows a single
night together won’t be possible. The idea of spirited Maggie in his bed is
electrifying, but will she believe he wants to give her his heart, too?

Shannyn Schroeder is the author
of the O’Leary series, contemporary romances centered around a large Irish-American
family in Chicago and the new Hot & Nerdy series about 3 nerdy friends and
their last spring break. When she’s not wrangling her three kids or writing,
she watches a ton of TV and loves to bake cookies.

Maggie spent the next two days
working on her portfolio and talking with Moira about job prospects and
possibly even going back to school. She worked her shifts at the bar and made
good tips, and didn’t have any more episodes. All in all, life was good.

Except for the whole no boyfriend,
no dating, no sex thing. And to top it off, she kept seeing Shane in her
dreams. She decided it was time to do something about it. She grabbed a
six-pack of beer and knocked on Shane’s door. Getting things out in the open
would be best. Even if he thought she was crazy for thinking they should sleep
together once as an experiment, at least then she could put the fantasies to
rest.

The radio blared on the other side
of the door, and Maggie thought that maybe he hadn’t heard her knock. She
raised her hand again and the door swung open as her fist came down. She looked
like a cat batting at toy. Shane stood in the doorway, shirtless—like that was
going to help rid her of crazy dreams. He walked to the radio and turned it
down.

“Hey. I brought you some beer.”

“Do you mean you swiped some beer
from downstairs?” he asked with one eyebrow up.

She wrinkled her nose at him. “No,
smart-ass. Want to see the receipt?” She really hoped he didn’t ask for one
since it didn’t exist even though she’d paid for it. She hadn’t swiped the
beer, but it came from the bar’s stock.

He opened the door wider. “Is it
cold?”

“Who the hell would show up with
warm beer? That would be like saying, here, have a brownie, and throwing a box
at you.” She walked past him and took in the sight of the apartment. It was
completely bare.

He closed the door behind her and
took the beer from her hand. Setting it in the fridge, he took one bottle out
and drank. “Does this mean we’re good?”

“We’re always good.”

“You seemed a little snippy after
dinner the other day and you haven’t said two words to me since.”

He had her there. She was still mad
when they worked a night shift together, but then she hadn’t seen him. “I was,
but I did some thinking and realized you were right.”

“Whoa.” He held up a hand and pulled
his phone from his pocket. His thumb scrolled through the screen. “I gotta have
an app for that.”

“For what?”

“I need to record you saying that.
Not only will I replay it every time we argue, but I’ll play it for my sisters
when they tell me I don’t know anything.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “Shut up.”

She walked through the living room
and decided maybe this wasn’t a good idea. He had nowhere to sit. “Are you done
working?”

“For now.”

“Want to come over and watch TV?”

“Do I get to pick?”

“As long as it’s not sports.”

“Cool. Let me take a shower and I’ll
be right over.”

She nodded and went back to her
apartment. Suddenly, her stomach began to flip. Why was this making her nervous?
Then she realized she didn’t know what the outcome would be. She didn’t know
what Shane would say, which went against the way she liked things.

If he agreed, how would they
proceed? Would they have sex now? Tonight? No, she hadn’t even shaved her legs
and she was wearing her old college sweats. This was just conversation. She
would feel him out.

Grabbing a Coke from the fridge, she
checked her cabinets for snacks. What do you serve a guy you’re going to ask to
sleep with you? Chips? Cookies?

Maggie took a deep breath. She was
overthinking. This was Shane, and she’d always been able to talk to him about
anything. She settled on the couch and turned on the TV. About fifteen minutes
later, there was a thump against her door.

She got up and looked through the
peephole. Shane. She unlocked the door.

“You knew I was coming over. Why’d
you lock it?”

“I always lock it.” It was one of
the many things she always did now. She locked her apartment door. She locked
the bathroom door even when she was home alone. She locked her bedroom door at
night.

“Probably a good idea. I just
thought you would’ve left it open for me.” He walked into the kitchen and put
two bottles of beer in her refrigerator. “Shoot. I didn’t know you still had
some.”

“I don’t drink it. And you’re the
only person I’ve had over, so there’s beer.” She sat back on the couch and
waited for him to join her. When he did, she took a moment to drink in the
sight of him.

He was all clean, no sign of sawdust
or drywall mud on him. The crisp scent of soap tickled her nose. He wore an old
T-shirt that had seen better days. The collar had been cut and the hem at the
bottom was frayed. Like her, he wore loose sweatpants.

“Before we pick out a show to watch,
I want to talk to you about something.”

He took a drink of his beer and
watched her. “Is this the real reason you got me a six-pack?”

“No.” She looked at a spot over his
shoulder and tried to get the words right so he could understand. “You know
I’ve been trying to date. And the part I was telling you about, how I’m still
not all myself?” She blew out a breath, puffing her cheeks out. “I’m afraid of
wasting my time. What if I find another great guy and I still can’t have sex?
It’s not fair to either of us.”

“What are you getting at, Mags?”

“I need to know if I’m broken.”

“You’re not.”

She held up a hand, and when she
felt it wobble she tucked it between her knees. “I might be. I just want to
know.”

He set his beer on the table and
leaned closer.

She licked her lips, closed her
eyes, and jumped in. “You’re the one person I’ve always been able to count on,
other than my family. I feel safe with you.”

“I’m glad.” His hand landed on her
thigh.

She opened her eyes and looked into
his. “Would you be willing to have sex with me?”